Cache
by CyanideGenocide
Summary: Rewrite of a story I had previously written.


I stepped out into the cool air. Snow crunched under my feet and the wind threatened to break the bun my brown hair was in. But the weather was so nice I didn't worry about it.  
Ring ring ring.  
I looked down at my tiny phone. I had recieved a text from Caroline, one of my closest friends from my old town.  
"DELANEY!" I smiled at the text. She always acted like everything was an emergency.  
After some extra scrolling, I found that it was only one of many texts.  
"I'm here, Caroline. What the heck is wrong?" I texted back. Before I could put the phone away, I recieved another text.  
"You weren't answering any of my texts! I thought your bus crashed or something!" I chuckled at that remark.  
"I'm fine. There probably wasn't reception, that's all," I reply. I had moved to get away from cellphones and the city. I wanted a nice rural town. A town where everybody knows everybody. I wanted to be part of a community for once. Not just an apartment building.  
Suddenly the wind took a harsh turn, catching me off guard and sending my phone flying through the air. I ran towards the delicate object and found it smashed on the ground. I sighed at the thought of it.  
"Oh man, that looks bad." I turned around towards the voice and saw a face that was too familiar.  
"K.K. Slider!" I exclaimed. He had black hair and very pale skin, but I could tell it was him by the distinct voice and guitar wrapped around his back. He smiled at my remark.  
"And you are?"  
"I am Delaney!" I say, the sentence coming out more awkward than I wanted it too. He offered a large hand and I shook it, feeling the warmth radiate from his hand to mine.  
"I'm sorry about your phone. That's a tough deal."  
"Oh no, no, It's fine! I mean, I don't really need one. It's, it's fine!" I say. Man, he was gorgeous. And by the small laugh that he gave after my sentence I could tell he knew he was gorgous.  
"Well, I guess that's good. But hey- I haven't seen you around here before. You're new?" I nodded in response, not wanting to say something stupid like I had been.  
"Where's your house? And why do you not have any luggage?"  
"I.. I don't know," I stammered.  
"You don't know where your house is?" He asked, not condescending but concerned. I hated people who thought I was stupid, who thought I didn't know anything.  
And yet, in this very moment I was stupid. And I didn't know anything. But he didn't treat me like that.  
"No... I really didn't have a plan or anything," I tell him honestly. He nodded, examining the ground.  
"Well, I can help you change that." He gestured his hand to follow and I did.  
We passed my phone, screen broken and in the snow.  
"My phone!" I exclaimed, backtracking to pick it up. K.K. gave me a disapproving look and I stood up from my kneeling position. My hand was inches away from it.  
"Or not," I whispered to myself, wondering why he didn't like me trying to get it.  
Okay, maybe I didn't think I needed it anymore. But I still wanted it. I knew all too well that you couldn't forget any of your memories- Not even any of the bad ones. You had to especially remember the bad ones. But maybe not? Maybe I had to live in the present?  
Yes. That was what K.K. was trying to tell me. That I was here right now. That nothing in the past mattered.  
I stood up and brushed the small amount of snow off of my dress. I smiled at K.K., trying to cover up the awkwardness of what just happened.  
We walked to the Town Hall in silence. We had to cross a bridge to get there, and that part was a bit scary. The "railing" only reached to ankle height and K.K. walked at a fast pace. Plus I didn't know how to swim.  
The worker at the front desk had bright white hair but darker eyebrows, which either told me that she dyed her hair or colored her eyebrows. She also had very bright pink and a dress that matched her blush in color.  
She had explained to me that all of the vacant houses were the same size and costed the same amount of bells, so I could have my pick of the 3. Of course, I didn't have any bells- actually, I didn't have anything with me except the clothes on my back and the phone. Of course, the phone was broken and probably long gone. So I was worried about the money.  
The woman introduced herself as Pelly, and instructed me to examine the map she had handed K.K. Slider while she started paperwork. I noticed she had not been fazed by the musician, which made me think he came to the town often. K.K. had unfolded the map and revealed a nice town that seemed to have many villagers.  
"There are so many people!" I spurt out. He laughed.  
"Yeah. Let's see... This house," he said, pointing to a house that was literally in the very top left corner of the village, "has nice land. But you'll have to live right next to a jerk."  
"Who?" I asked.  
"Tom. He's lived here a while, maybe that's why he's so cranky all the time." K.K. continued looking at the map.  
The vacant houses were a bit bigger than the other marked houses, but one of them had a large red X in the middle.  
"What does that X mean?" I ask, looking at K.K.  
"Someone moved into that house. I don't know who though," he said, still looking at the map.  
"Oh! This one is nice. Right on the beach. Next to a fellow named Iggly. He seems to be all sporty and healthy, but he actually eats a lot. Like, a lot." I stared at K.K. That was a very rude thing to say. I had heard that K.K. was a pretty nice guy, so I wondered why he was being rude.  
"There's one in a little corner over here. Your closest neighbor would be Mint. She's alright, I guess. A gossip. Girly girl. Not sure if you would like her." I shrugged.  
"So do you like any of them?" Pelly asks, leaning against the desk. I considered the question.  
"I don't really want the one by the beach. I don't know how to swim and it's away from all of the shops and stuff. I'm not so sure about the one by Mint, but the one in the very corner seems like a great house. Looks like nice land," I say, projecting my thoughts.  
"So you want the one in the northwest?" Pelly asks me. I nod. "Then you can go check it out and hopefully you'll run into its owner, Tom Nook. If not I would suggest stoping by his store."  
K.K. led me to the house. It was tiny, but it had a red roof and I liked that. I could get used to the small size, considering I lived alone and didn't have furniture. At least, not yet. But I did notice a top floor that could only mean it was an attic.  
I turned to K.K. Slider and found him looking at his small watch.  
"Going somewhere?" I ask. K.K. shook his head and smiled.  
"Naw, not for a while. I'll have to set up later for my concert tonight, but that isn't until about 6."  
"You're having a concert tonight?" I ask, amazed that I might actually be able to see K.K. Slider live.  
"Yep. I play on the first Saturday of every month in this town. I grew up here, so I kind of have to." I nodded.  
"You never played in the city," I say. He stared at me.  
"I never really liked the city. Too many people. They're all so busy."  
"I used to live in the city," I say as a side note.  
"I don't see how anybody could live there. Too much stuff going on! And the stores are all overpriced..." He gave a disgusted groan. It was quite insulting, actually.  
"K.K. SLIDER!" He turned away from me to see the approaching girl. She had dark brown hair in an interesting swirly fashion.  
"Carmen!" He exclaimed, and hugged her. After the gesture she turned to me.  
"And you're the new girl?" She asked me. I nodded. "Well, welcome to our humble village. You're lucky you know me- I'm going to teach you A LOT of stuff about fashion and-"  
"Carmen can you please shut up?" I stretch my neck to see the owner of the new voice. A slightly overweight, short guy with purple-ish hair that fell in a swirl over his forehead emerged from behind Carmen and K.K. Following him was a taller guy with red hair.  
Carmen gave a small yelp that suggests what he just said was absolutely unbelievable. I couldn't help but to laugh. And apparently he had seen me laugh, because he and the red-haired guy join my side.  
"Hey. I'm Iggly," the purple-ish haired one said and held out his hand.  
"Delaney," I say, taking it. The red-head appears from behind him.  
"And I'm Benedict." I reach out to take his hand, but I am cut off.  
"DELANEY!" All of us turn around to see who yelled my voice. It was a shorter man with dark brown hair.  
He pulled me by the arm and said something about working at his store, but he talked so fast I could barely understand a thing he said.  
We arrived at his store and he put an apron over my head. He then gave me a ton of little planted flowers and told me to put them outside.  
I was confused as to why he was asking me to do it, but I did anyway. I took one of the flowers out of its small disposable pot and put in the ground. My forehead had a slight itch, and I scratched it, getting soil all over my skin. I ignored it and went back into his store. He immediatly walked up to me and handed me a shirt and instructed me to give it to Tom.  
"But I-" I tried to protest, because I didn't know who Tom was.  
"Get to it!"  
I traveled back to my house, hoping that Iggly and Benedict were still there. Luckily they were, along with Carmen who was arguing with them.  
"Delaney!" Iggly exclaimed as he saw me. I smiled at him.  
"What's up?" He asked, as he walked up to me. Benedict followed him.  
"Oh, man! You look like a mess!" Benedict exclaimed. I laughed.  
"That guy was making me do work."  
"Nook?" Iggly asked.  
"I think so," I say. "Anyway, I have to deliver this to Tom. Who is that?" I ask.  
"Only the third member of our cult!" Iggly exclaimed. I stared at him. He broke out in laughter and wiped a non-existent tear.  
"Just kidding. But he's the grandpa of our group. Benedict and I were on the way to his house, actually. He lives right there," Iggly said, pointing to the house that was located right next to mine.  
I remembered looking at the map of the town with K.K. Slider and him saying something about a Tom.  
Benedict started to walk towards his house and Iggly strayed behind to talk to me.  
"So who all do you know?" He asked me.  
"Uhh lets see... The first person I met was K.K. Slider. Good luck I guess." Iggly scoffed at that.  
"What?" I asked.  
"He's a weird fellow. I think that happens when people work too much." Iggly shrugged. He set a hand on my shoulder.  
"Don't work too much, Crazy D."  
"Crazy D?" I ask. Iggly nodded.  
"That's your new nickname." I smiled.  
Benedict didn't even bother knocking on the door. Instead he just opened it up and ran inside. Iggly followed him and I stood in the doorway- not wanting to intrude.  
"Tom! Get your butt out here!" Iggly exclaimed. A man with blue hair emerged from a back room. He was wearing a black shirt that read 'BB' in white letters and equally matching black pants.  
"Hey Igg-" he paused when he saw me, staring.  
"Uh, I'm Delaney," I say. He approached me and took the shirt from my hands.  
"Ah... Nook. That explains it." I couldn't help staring at his golden eyes while he examined the shirt. He suddenly put it down.  
"If you couldn't guess, I'm Tom." Tom held out a hand and I took it.  
"Delaney," I say.  
"I know. You said that a minute ago." I blushed, but I saw him give a small laugh.  
"Stay on my good side and maybe we can be friends." Iggly joined us in the doorway.  
"Hey, we should introduce Delaney to everyone in town!" Iggly suggests. Tom shrugged and I heard Benedict exclaim something from inside the house. He appeared with a cookie.  
"Let's go!" Benedict yelled, and dragged me out of the doorway.  
"Tell me again who you have met?" Iggly asks me as we walk. He walked next to me, Benedict was on my other side, and Tom was in the back.  
"K.K. Slider," I say, finding myself smiling. I could see Benedict smiling.  
"You totally have a crush on him!" Benedict exclaimed.  
"I do not!" I say in defense, but really I hadn't put much thought into it.  
"Well luckily your boyfriend is having a concert tonight at the Roost. Last concert he played a real romantic song and Benedict and I got to dance together," Iggly says. I suddenly hear Tom burst out in laughter.  
"Oh man, I remember that night." He walked up next to Iggly.  
"I believe the song was 'K.K. Love Song,'" Benedict comments.  
"Say, what's your favorite K.K. song?" Iggly asks.  
"Hmm... I'd have to go with K.K. Chorale,"I say.

I changed into the new dress I had bought at Able Sisters. It was so elegant and perfect for the concert tonight. I lived right next to the muesem- so it was perfect. I was so happy that I would be able to experience a concert on my first night.  
I walked out the door and didn't bother to lock it. This wasn't the city. I passed Tom's house and reached the muesem. There were lights coming from the door and I could tell the whole village was there.  
When I descended the stairs to the Roost, many people were talking and laughing. K.K. Slider was on stage, but he hadn't started playing yet.  
"Delaney!" I searched the room to find Iggly sitting with Benedict and Tom at a table in the corner. I joined them, sitting next to Iggly and across from Benedict.  
K.K. finally started playing and his first song I recognized as K.K. Ballad. Some people had started dancing, but I wasn't much for dancing. I ocassionally liked to dance, but it was rare.  
After that he announced that he in fact wanted people- if they knew how to dance- to dance along. And to change partners. The song he started playing was K.K. Waltz.  
I knew how to Waltz. But I didn't know if anybody else at the table knew how to.  
"Anyone else know how to Waltz?" Tom asks.  
"I do!" I say. "I mean, I kind of suck. But it's one of the only dancing genres I like," I add.  
So Tom and I stand up. But Carmen demands to be my partner first. She obviously had no idea how to Waltz, so I was relieved when it was called to change partners.  
My next partner was Iggly.  
"You don't know how to waltz!" I say. He laughs and shrugs.  
"Oh well. I'm here, right?" He smiled and we continue dancing, slightly missing the beat. But whatever.  
It is called once again to change partners and I'm glad to be with Tom.  
"Please tell me you actually know how to Waltz?" He asks, and grabs my hands. I laugh and nod. He leads and for once the dance is actually right. I glance around the room and find everyone else screwing up.  
"For once I'm the best dancer," I say. Tom laughs.  
"I know how you feel."  
K.K. Waltz ends and the previously dimmed lights are turned on again. He contiunes to play K.K. Ragtime. That was another one of my favorites.  
"Man, you and Tom were good!" Benedict exclaims, walking up to us. I laughed.  
"I had lots of practice," I confess.  
"Really? You should teach me," Iggly says, making his way up to us.  
"Tom would probably be a better instructor than me," I say honestly. Iggly pulls out a few bells and hands them to me.  
"Buy a copy of K.K. Waltz. You two are going to teach us," Iggly insists.  
K.K. Ragtime ends and that marks the end of the concert. I make my way up to the stage and to K.K.  
"Hey! Delaney!"  
"Hi K.K."  
"I didn't know you could dance," he says with a mischevious grin. I shrug, disregarding whatever that smile meant.  
"Yeah. I've done a little bit of dancing. I'm not that good. But apparently Benedict and Iggly want me and Tom to teach them, so I guess I'll get better," I say.  
"Well I think you were perfect."  
"Thanks," I say. "So how much for K.K. Waltz?"  
"Free for you."  
"Oh, really? Thank you." K.K. smiled.  
I picked up a copy of K.K. Waltz and made my way over to Iggly and Benedict. I handed Iggly the bells I didn't end up paying.  
"Whoa, he gave it to you for free?" Benedict asks. I nodded. I noticed the room was practically empty. And I was feeling a bit tired, too.  
"I think I'm going to go home," I announce. Tom walks up to me.  
"Yeah, I'm heading out too."  
"Alright. See you guys," Benedict says, chewing on a muffin. Iggly hugs me goodbye. I give a final wave as Tom and I walk up the stairs.  
We walked outside the muesem and I see my broken phone on the ground. I glance at Tom then kneel down to pick it up.  
He wasn't looking at me like I was stupid. He wasn't looking at me like I was the strangest person in the world. No. Instead he had the same calm look on his face as I picked it up.  
Because you couldn't forget any memories. Not even the bad ones.  
But you couldn't dwell on the bad ones.  
I stood up with the phone in hand and walked with Tom to his house. He waved goodbye and walked into his house. I walked the few feet to mine and closed the door, happy to be home.


End file.
